1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to oral hydrotherapeutic devices for the promotion of oral hygiene and, more particularly, to an improved oral syringe having a unique control valve for effecting a clear pressurized stream discharge or a discharge of stream water mixed with an augmenting substance and which further includes a stop control.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Medical science has demonstrated in the past that a thorough cleansing of teeth and gums greatly assists in protecting and promoting human health and comfort. Where trapped debris and microorganisms (and their metabolic products) are removed from the cervical surfaces of the teeth next to gum margins, calculus accumulation or tartar is prevented since the inorganic salts necessary for producing such accumulation will deposit and calcify only when the organic matrix of this deposit is present. When this removal process is accomplished by a fluid stream, the inherent cyclic pressure and relaxation results in increased circulation in the underlying tissues thereby promoting healthier gums.
For these reasons, mechanical devices for cleaning teeth and massaging gums have been heretofore widely proposed, and probably the instrument most commonly used today for such purposes is the toothbrush. There are, however, several serious disadvantages inherent in the utilization of toothbrushes for gum massage and teeth cleaning. For one thing, patience and practice are required to develop the necessary skill needed, since careless brush placement and vigorous scrubbing can puncture, lacerate and/or seriously bruise the facial gingiva. As a result, it is quite common to punctate lesions to appear as red pinpoint dots corresponding to the tips of the toothbrush bristles or as linear scratches where the bristle tips were drawn over the gums with excessive pressure. Consequently, it is not unusual for an overzealous toothbrush used with a new stiff-textured toothbrush to brush too long in one or two areas and thereby remove the surface epithelium, producing a raw, painful bruise.
While oral hydrotherapeutic syringes are known to be of great assistance and value for loosening debris adhering to and/or trapped between teeth, their utilization has heretofore been severly curtailed as a result of their complexity, costliness and the fact that they have been difficult to use and control. Perhaps more importantly, for such devices to achieve general acceptance, they must be able to be attached to, and detached from, common fluid sources such as home water faucets with a minimum of time and effort.
While numerous devices of this general purpose have been proposed in the past, they have generally fallen short of the accomplishment of the desired ends in various aspects. Many, for example, have been designed to become permanently affixed to the fluid source which, in the case of a home water faucet, necessarily interferes with the normal operation and utilization thereof.
Another aspect in which the prior art has fallen short is the narrow scope or purpose for which such devices have heretofore been proposed such as in the device described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,225,759 and 3,500,824. This scope has been expanded by the present invention which, in part, permits the user thereof to meter desired amounts of mouthwash into his or her mouth under pressure so that portions of the gums (or gingiva) between the teeth can be rinsed, disinfected and the debris flushed out from between crevices.
By selectively utilizing a mouthwash in conjunction with the cleaning and massaging action of the syringe, the soft tissues within the mouth are soothed, resulting in accelerated healing of sore spots. The removability feature of the mouthwash container also permits the user to utilize a variety of washes which are particularly suited to his or her needs such as mouthwashes containing various germicidal, astringent, deodorant, buffering or therapeutic properties.